COVID-19 Holiday checklist

What to discuss with your loved ones before getting together this holiday season

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

For advice on how to approach COVID-19 risk mitigation this holiday season, check out this post by an economics professor Emily Oster, and these articles published in Atlantic and Vox, which will be helpful in putting these questions into context, and possibly help answer these questions.

For up-to-date data on local COVID-19 cases, check out this New York Times page.

Minimize the chance of COVID-19 getting into the family gathering

• Should people socially isolate prior to the family gathering? If yes, for how many days? Should this apply to kids that are going to in-person school?
• Should people get tested prior to traveling? If so, who should get tested? When should they get tested? Should the tested people wait to travel until a negative result? If not, will they isolate from others until the test result comes back?
• How will each family travel? By car, plane, bus, or train? What can each family do to minimize the risk of getting infected en route?

Minimize the chance of COVID-19 spreading at the family gathering IN CASE someone is infected (and infectious)

• How many people/who will be there at the family gathering? Is anyone allowed to bring any guest? Is there a way to reduce the number of people?
• What social interventions will be practiced? Do we expect people to wear a mask at all times when not eating/drinking? Should everyone observe physical distancing? If yes to either, whose responsibility will it be to ensure that everyone is complying with these norms?
• Will there be a special consideration for people who are especially vulnerable (e.g. elderly) or visiting from a high risk setting (e.g. back from college)? Should they adhere to a different norm (e.g. wearing a mask when others are not expected to do so)?
• (If wearing mask or physical distancing) How will meals be set up? Socially distanced or not? Where will they be set up? Indoors or outdoors?
• Will we keep the windows open to increase air circulation? If so, when? All the times? During meals? During awake time?
• Where will people stay? At someone’s house? AirBNB or hotel?
• What is the plan if someone falls ill? Where will they isolate? Where can they get tested?

Minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19 to others once you return home

• Will people socially isolate after returning home? If so, for how many days?
• Will people get tested after returning home?